Mask Effect
by Charis77
Summary: Post ME3: Halloween fluff-Shepard, Garrus and their daughter celebrate the holiday with unintended results.


Author's Note: This fic can be read on its own, but shares the context of my other ME stories, especially Family Reunion.

* * *

"I don't get it. This feels…wrong."

Shepard glanced at Garrus out of her peripheral vision as she concentrated on a mirror, adjusting her wig. "I don't see why. Your costume isn't exactly out of the ordinary."

Garrus grunted from his seat on the bed. "For my race, it's a crime to pretend you're anyone else."

Shepard creased her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Garrus nodded. "Even having an alias can land you in prison for years."

"So…_Archangel_, you going to turn yourself in?"

Garrus chuckled. "No. And that wasn't an alias, it was more a nickname."

"Well, you might as well have dressed as Archangel. You hardly look any different."

Garrus scratched his tattoos uncomfortably. "My identity is gone. You sure this paint comes off?"

Shepard sighed and stood. "Yes. But really, Garrus, except for the tattoos, you look the same."

Garrus balked and stood as well. "I'm _not_ the same." He paced to the mirror, considering the dark green spiral tattoos covering over his blue ones. "General Acidinus wreaked havoc all over turian space in a bid to conquer the colonies."

"And how long ago was that?"

"Quite a while."

"And turian style hasn't changed since then?"

Garrus considered his armor. "We're consistent." He turned to look back at his wife. "And you said I should be something scary. Acidinus was a ruthless tyrant that killed thousands."

Shepard breathed out resignedly. "I guess it will do."

"Like your costume is any better," Garrus mumbled, heading to the bedroom door.

"What's wrong with it?" Shepard challenged.

Garrus stopped in his tracks. "You look…ridiculous."

Shepard glared at him. "Why?"

"The outfit's okay. White robe, fine. But that wig. I've never seen any human wearing her hair like that. Those masses on the side look like pyjak dung."

Shepard couldn't help but giggle. "Are you telling me you've never seen Star Wars?"

"I haven't heard of it."

Shepard walked to the door. "I can't believe we've been married so long and I haven't tied you down to watch it yet. We need a movie night. It's a human sci-fi classic and I read somewhere there's a turian fan club for it, too."

Garrus flexed his brow plates. "A _turian_ fan club?"

"Uh huh. I don't care who you are, you've got to love Jedi."

"J-"

"Don't ask. We'll watch it sometime. Anyway, I always wanted to be Princess Leia growing up. She's got an attitude, pretty outfits and a man. Every little girl's ideal."

Garrus sidled up next to her and ran a talon lightly over the back of her neck. "You managed the attitude and the man, or turian. But I don't recall a slew of pretty outfits in your closet."

Shepard batted his hand away. "Ideals can change. We need to get Tev. It's already dark."

"You realize she's not going to be able to eat most of the stuff she gets?"

Shepard sighed. Their seven year old daughter had her share of allergies to food. "She knows what she can and can't eat. But we promised her we'd do this. All the human kids talk about Halloween every October and she just wants to be one of them."

Garrus snorted. "She's not one of them."

"Just let her pretend she is for one night."

"Fine."

* * *

Shepard strolled down the street guided by a light on her omni-tool. They'd already gone to several dwellings and Tev's bag was filling up with candy. She glanced down at Tev who had begged that her hair be shaved for this event. She'd also donned a mask, one that had originally concerned Shepard—Tev had chosen to be Aunt Jack. Shepard had no problem with Jack personally, but she wasn't sure she wanted her daughter to emulate her friend. Handling a Jack-like teenager wasn't on her list of aspirations. But when she'd inquired, Tev had rambled on and on about Jack's biotics, showing her fascination lay solely in Jack's powerful abilities. What kid wouldn't love to be as powerful as Jack?

Besides the mask, Tev wore a body suit covered in tattoo markings. Shepard chuckled quietly as they walked, amused at the legendary status of her closest friends. Half the kids they passed wore a costume tied to the Reaper War. She'd seen several Liaras, Talis and Wrexes. A few Shepards, too, and a good share of Garruses. A flurry of Reaper husks rushed past them, babbling on about the dwelling with the best candy.

"Do you ever feel you want to shoot them?" Garrus mumbled quietly next to her.

Shepard glanced at the backs of the fleeing husks. "Wouldn't that go over well?" she laughed jokingly. "Admiral Shepard slaughters thirteen children mistaken as husks."

Garrus laughed good-naturedly, then groused, "It is a little wrong, though, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Children thinking it's fun to dress up like that."

"Reapers are the scariest things they know."

"True."

"Speaking of…"

Shepard and Garrus watched a tiny Reaper pass them, the insect-like costume fairly accurate and impressive.

"This is a stupid holiday, Shepard."

Shepard pressed her lips together and moved on to the next dwelling when Tev pulled on her hand. "Come on! More candy!"

"Alright…You want me to go up to the door with you?"

Tev sighed loudly. "I can do it myself, mom."

"Alright. Go." Shepard watched her little girl trounce up to the door, bag slung over her arm, moving every which way pretending to crush things with her "biotics." She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to Garrus.

"Who's he supposed to be?"

Shepard followed Garrus' talon to see a kid across the street walking alone. His clothes were everyday wear, jeans and a hoodie, but he must have sprayed himself in some luminescent paint as he glowed a crystal blue. "Hum…he seems vaguely familiar…"

"Another human movie?"

Shepard shrugged as the kid moved out of sight. "I don't know."

"Mom! They gave me melimela!"

Shepard met Tev's excited eyes and smiled. "Did they? How wonderful!" She looked to the door and waved gratefully to the couple she knew well, human friends who had known Tev was coming and had purchased something appropriate.

"Next house, dad!" Tev grabbed Garrus' hand and dragged him along. When they reached it, she stared up at him, blue eyes gleaming. "What do you think they'll have?"

"Go find out," Garrus encouraged her. As she ran to the door, he called after her, "Use your biotics to take it all!"

Shepard punched him in the shoulder.

"What?" he protested, a twinkle in his eye.

"She _shouldn't_ be selfish."

"I thought the point was to get as much as possible," Garrus returned, mandibles in a wide turian grin.

"Shut up!" Tev's voice rang out. "Take it back!"

Shepard snapped her gaze to the right to behold her daughter straddled on top of another child, a boy dressed as Admiral Hackett and at least twice Tev's age. He was screaming bloody murder as Tev pummeled him with her fists. Shepard ran towards them, growling at Garrus as she went. "See what you've done!"

"I didn't mean it literally!" Garrus defended, following behind her.

Shepard reached the pair and hauled Tev off the boy while Garrus gripped his hand and righted him. The boy yanked his hand out of Garrus' grasp, breathing heavily.

"Tev!" Shepard chastised. "Apologize!"

"No! He called me a freak!" Tev yelled.

Shepard looked to the sneering boy. "You _both_ should apologize."

The boy's smirk faded. "I didn't call her anything!"

"Seamus! What are you doing?" a hearty voice called out from the nearest dwelling.

Seamus saw his escape and ran to the door where a bulky man stood rooted on the threshold. "Nothing. Here." He turned over his bag and dumped all the candy out of it into the man's hands. "I'm going out for more." He hightailed it out of the yard, ducking behind the dwelling.

"Arrest him!" Tev cried out. "He's a jerk."

Shepard knelt down to Tev's level. "We're not going to _arrest_ him. Just ignore him."

"I hate him!" Tev seethed. "He's always making fun of me and hitting the other kids. He's a bully."

Shepard glanced up at Garrus, who sent her a look that proclaimed, "You're the peacemaker not me."

"Tev," Shepard spoke seriously, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You're going to meet mean people in life. You can't beat up on them."

"_You_ beat up on them."

Shepard heard Garrus stifle a laugh and she firmed her jaw. How could she explain the difference between her actions and her daughter's? "I fought back only when I had no choice. Did he hit you?"

Tev's mandibles trembled. "No…" Her eyes began to fill with tears. "He said I didn't have to dress up. That I was already enough of a freak."

Shepard's heartbeat quickened.

"I want to go home."

Shepard picked Tev up in her arms. "Okay. We will."

"I'm going for a walk," Garrus said.

Shepard tilted her head at him. "I thought you'd be glad to go back home."

"Nice night."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed he wanted to stay out when Tev was so upset, but not wanting to get into an argument in front of her. "See you back home."

* * *

Garrus crossed the street the moment his wife and daughter were out of sight. He paced in the direction of the boy who had been sprayed in the luminescent paint. Luckily, the kid was still out and easy to spot, his ethereal glow bright against the backdrop of the night.

"Hey, kid!" Garrus called out when he reached him.

The boy slowly turned. "Yes."

"Um…" Garrus stared down at the child, maybe about eleven years old. He didn't seem very childlike. His yes came out too calm and serene. "This stuff you've got on your clothes, do you have it with you?"

The child blinked his eyes. "What do you plan to do with it?"

Garrus bobbed uncomfortably on his feet. This kid was creepy, more like an adult caught in a child's body. Garrus wasn't usually afraid of anything, but this kid made him uneasy. "It's for a disguise."

"Using it can be the catalyst for good or bad. Choose carefully," the boy counseled, digging into his pocket and pulling out a jar of paint.

"Uh…okay," Garrus answered.

The boy handed the jar to him. "You can keep it." He turned fluidly, whisking down the street.

Garrus watched him go in trepidation. _That kid's either going to be scarily intelligent one day or the worst criminal I've ever met—or both._ Garrus turned, blowing off the encounter and seeking a shadowy hiding place behind several trees. He dipped a talon in the paint. He'd seen numerous Reaper abominations tonight, but not the one he was about to become.

* * *

Garrus crouched to the ground. It was lucky for him Concilia's moons were concealed against clouds tonight. He checked his omni-tool again. He'd found the sound file he wanted. It brought back unpleasant memories, but he ignored them.

_Kids_, he griped inside. _Already forgetting the terror of the War._ It was inevitable, he supposed, but it lessened not only the honor of those who had fought but the appreciation for the life the galaxy enjoyed. These kids didn't know how fortunate they were to exist, to not cower in terror in the face of evil. Well, he mused, one was about to rediscover the ability.

Garrus saw the boy dressed as Admiral Hackett finally returning home again with another bag hefted over his shoulder. Greedy and arrogant—two quality traits Garrus hated more than anything. Garrus shifted, glancing down at himself. He'd found some water hoses outside homes and twisted them around his body. He'd return them, of course, he was simply borrowing them for a moment. Luminescent dots glowed on his face, appearing to be multiple eyes. He'd even dabbed the paint on his eyelids so when he closed them nothing remained but glowing horror. He drew out his gun, a prop originally meant for his Acidinus costume. The kid was close now, only a few feet away from the gate secreting Garrus. Garrus tapped to play the audio file on his omni-tool and rose from his hiding place.

The garbled, staticky language coming from the tool drew the boy's attention immediately. He jumped and twirled in Garrus' direction. Garrus, having got the kids bearing, closed his eyes to complete the multiple eye effect and rushed at the child, firing blanks as he went. The kid yelped, his scream a high pitched screech. Garrus heard the kid's bag plunk to the ground and his footsteps make a dash for his dwelling. Garrus opened his eyes, snatching the boy by the shoulder.

"Help! Help!" the kid screamed.

Garrus closed his eyes again, but leaned in close to the boy's face, drawing him in. He spoke deeply. "You know what I am?" The boy didn't respond. "Answer me!"

The boy shook in his hands. "I…don't know."

"I'm your worst nightmare. I eat children that hurt other children."

"Wha—"

"You hurt another child again and I'll feast on your flesh."

The child shook even more.

"Then I'll indoctrinate your bones and you'll serve me for the rest of your life!"

The boy whimpered when Garrus mentioned indoctrination. Garrus let the boy go, his omni-tool still piercing the street with its unearthly speech. The child tore off towards his house and Garrus opened his eyes. He yelled after him. "You forgot your bag!" The child didn't look back.

Garrus grinned, hooking his rifle to his back. The boy was just a kid, but…Archangel still had it.

* * *

When Garrus made it back home, the lights were still on. Shepard had waited up for him. He paused outside the door, gathering his thoughts. No need for her to know what had transpired. He entered resolutely. Shepard gazed at him from the couch, arms folded. She opened her mouth to say something, but let it hang like that for a moment. The words that came out weren't the ones she'd planned.

"What in the galaxy happened to your face?"

Garrus swallowed. "I'm…a marauder."

Shepard began to snicker, then guffawed.

Garrus clacked his mandibles. "You said I was supposed to be scary. This is."

Shepard's laughter faded to amused giggles. "You don't look anything like one. You look absurd."

Maybe he did, Garrus reasoned, but few kids had any idea what real Reapers looked like anyway. "You're the one who thinks pyjak crap hair is a good idea."

Shepard's giggles resolved into a smile. "So why the change?"

Garrus shrugged his mandibles. "Getting into the spirit of the holiday, I guess."

Shepard inclined her head. "Hum…"

"What?"

"I'm trying to decide if I believe you."

Garrus pulled his mandibles into his jaw and stared her down.

Shepard let out a low sigh. "Alright. I know that look. You aren't going to tell me no matter how much I pry."

Garrus walked over to the couch and slipped down onto it. They'd been married long enough, he knew she'd given up any inquiries for good. "How's Tev?"

"Asleep. We had a talk," Shepard informed him. "I wish you'd spoken to her, too."

"She needed you, not me. You always explain things better than I can."

Shepard sucked in a breath. "Yes, well, she looks more like you than me. She can identify with you."

"But she acts more human than turian," Garrus replied.

"I don't know," Shepard said, contemplating. "I think she's a lot like both of us. Anyway, she told me how awful some of the kids are to her, both humans _and_ turians."

"But they aren't _all_ awful to her."

"No. She has friends."

"Then she's fine."

Shepard looked away from Garrus, lips twisted in thought. "Garrus…do you ever think we made a mistake letting them create her?"

"No."

Shepard turned back to her husband, eyebrows raised in surprise. "I thought it would take you at least a little longer to answer than that." Garrus flexed his mandibles. "I mean, I didn't think of it at the time, but it seems so Cerberus-like to combine the DNA of two different races."

Garrus took a long breath. "It's Mordin-like. It's not surprising he came up with it and you know he wouldn't have intentions like Cerberus."

Shepard snorted. "Mordin didn't have much intention at all. He was just excited when he figured out something could be done. He didn't always think through the consequences."

Garrus reached out and gripped Shepard's hand, locking eyes with her. "_I_ did. Scientists have been combining DNA for a long time."

"Animals, not the races. And it doesn't always work."

"It doesn't," Garrus agreed. "But sometimes it does. We're lucky Mordin came up with a way to surmount the difficulties for us."

Shepard sighed unhappily, looking towards Tev's bedroom.

Garrus squeezed her hand. "How many people are born a little different? How many exhibit a mutation others don't have?"

"You're implying Tev's a mutant. Great."

Garrus let out an exasperated breath. "Shepard, we made a decision. She was created. Do you want to kill her?"

Shepard pierced him with a fierce gaze. "Of course not!"

"Right. So we have to deal with what she is. And you don't have to spend all her childhood worrying about her. She's the symbol of our galaxy joining together—literally. She's you and me. She's got both of us in her. She'll be able to withstand prejudice."

"And if not, you'll terrorize her tormenters?" The ghost of a smile played around Shepard's lips.

Garrus shrugged his mandibles, sensing she'd been on to him all along. "I prefer not to answer that."

Shepard eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.

"_I_ never was the perfect turian," Garrus confessed. "I did it all wrong and if the war hadn't come along, I'd still be a reject, nothing but a C-Sec deserter and a failed vigilante."

"You're not a failure, Garrus," Shepard spoke quietly.

"My point is Tev is who she is and everyone has to deal with who they are, whatever their DNA. She's the same as anyone else in the galaxy."

"I suppose so," Shepard conceded, but the mother in her still worried over her daughter's sense of identity.

Garrus let go of Shepard's hand and twisted her forcefully around, facing away from him. He began to massage her shoulders. "Let it go for tonight. It's late and we still have to do that weird sex ritual."

Shepard raised an eyebrow Garrus' couldn't see. "Huh?"

"The one you told me about, human tradition on Halloween."

"Oh. Right. That one." Shepard suppressed a giggle.

"Personally, I find it entirely odd that you have to have sex in character. General Acidinus would _never _have had sex with a human, especially one called Princess Leia. That's the sappiest human name I ever heard."

"Well, you're not Acidinus now anyway, are you? You're a marauder."

Garrus kept rubbing her shoulders. "Hum…I didn't think about that. I don't think the great Admiral Shepard would get intimate with a marauder."

"Good thing I'm not Shepard," Shepard spoke coyly.

"I don't think _any_ human would have sex with a marauder."

"Maybe he captures her, falls in love with her and sees the error of his ways."

"I can't even imagine that."

"Oh, come on, Garrus. We've done something like this before."

"Archangel and Shepard getting together isn't the same. You in my hidden lair isn't far enough from the truth."

"You are such a nerf herder!"

Garrus stopped rubbing her shoulders. "What?"

Shepard turned. "Nothing…You'll need a name."

Garrus leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Marauders don't have names."

"Something heroic sounding…" Shepard went on, ignoring him. "Like a comic book superhero…maybe…Marauder Shields, something like that."

Garrus scowled at her. "I'm _not_ calling myself that."

"Oh my, Marauder Shields, your languid tones are so alluring," Shepard spoke softly, drawing her legs up on the couch and crawling towards Garrus.

Garrus rolled his eyes. "Stop. Let's just go back to Acidinus."

"It's too late for that; the Reapers got to you, General. But I know there's good in you." Shepard pushed Garrus back against the sofa and pressed her lips into his. "You can come back to the light side."

Garrus flapped his mandibles. "Wha…"

"Just go with it," Shepard urged.

Garrus reached up, trying to get into the mood, cradling her chin in his hands. Why did she like this role-playing stuff? "Fine…Leia." He locked lips with his wife, letting go of her chin and stretching down to tap his omni-tool. Eerie garbled speech filled the room.

Shepard sat up abruptly from on top of him, daggers in her eyes. "Okay, that's too real."

"Hey, _you _wanted to pretend. I'm pretending."

Shepard shook her head, reaching down and slipping off Garrus' tool, switching it off as she did so. "Forget it. It's you and me now."

Garrus grinned. He snatched off her wig and tossed it to the floor, then ran his talons through her hair and down her back, savoring her shiver of satisfaction.


End file.
